A general theory of crime and computer crime: An empirical test

Computer crime has become a global issue and continues to rapidly grow; however, few studies had examined the applicability of a general theory of crime in explaining computer deviance. Using a panel of 2,751 Korean youths, the current study examined whether low self-control theory can be useful as a theoretical framework for explaining computer crime. The results indicated the applicability of low self-control theory in explaining both illegal download of software and illegal use of others’ personal identification online. Consistent with the theory's prediction, opportunity variables, especially hours of computer use, were found to be significant predictors of computer crime. The shortcomings of the current research and the directions for future research were discussed.     

The economics of crime and criminal law: An antithesis to sociological theories?

The relationship between sociology and economics of crime has been dominated by mutual prejudice and misunderstanding. This paper tries to contribute to a change of this stale of affairs by showing that, on the one hand, the economics of crime does not as a method imply politically conservative policy recommendations and, on the other hand, that insights of the sociology of crime may enrich the economic approach considerably. This is done via a brief survey of the economics of enforcement, the literature on the relation of income distribution and unemployment on crime, and the literature relating sociological theories of crime to methodological individualism.     

Official crime rates and victim surveys: An empirical comparison

This paper compares the Uniform Crime Reports (UCRs) to the results of the National Crime Survey (NCS). Six Part I offenses are used to form the basis for comparison across twenty-six large American cities. The two data sources are conceptually comparable. Empirically, the NCS reveals significantly higher rates for all offenses but auto theft. The two sources are compatible in that the UCR revealed the same distributional pattern as the NCS. Thus it was concluded that the UCR provides an accurate indicator of the relative occurrence of criminal acts.     

An empirical assessment of content in criminal psychological profiles

Although criminal psychological profiling has been in use by law enforcement agencies for almost three decades, there is a paucity of empirical research examining the technique. A fundamental issue that has received little attention is the empirical evaluation of information contained in profiles composed by professional profilers. In this study, a group of profilers, police officers, psychologists, college students, and self-declared psychics were given information from a solved murder investigation, after which the participants composed a written profile predicting the probable offender. Professional profilers tended to write more lengthy profiles that contained more information about the nonphysical attributes of the offender and more information about the crime scene or the offender's behavior before, during, and after the crime. These results are discussed in terms of their implication for our broader understanding of the technique of profiling and future directions for research into profiling.     

Origin,growth and criminal capabilities of cybercriminal networks. An international empirical analysis

Two recent studies which are part of the Dutch Research Program on the Safety and Security of Online Banking, present empirical material regarding the origin, growth and criminal capabilities of cybercriminal networks carrying out attacks on customers of financial institutions. This article extrapolates upon the analysis of Dutch cases and complements the existing picture by providing insight into 22 cybercriminal networks active in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. The analysis regarding origin and growth shows that social ties play an important role in the majority of networks. These networks usually originate and grow either by means of social contacts alone or by the combined use of social contacts and forums (to recruit specialists). Equally, however, forums play a vital role within the majority of the networks by offering a place where co-offenders can meet, recruit and trade criminal ‘services’. Moreover, those networks where origin and growth is primarily based on forums appear capable of creating more flexible forms of cooperation between key members and enablers, thereby facilitating a limited number of core members to become international players. Analysis of the capabilities of criminal networks shows that all networks are primarily targeted towards customers of financial institutions, but most networks are not restricted to one type of crime. Core members are often involved in other forms of offline and online crime. The majority of networks fall into the high-tech category of networks, mostly international, high-tech networks. These are networks with core members, enablers, and victims originating from different countries.     

Fear of crime and criminal victimization: Gender-based contrasts

Extant research on the fear of crime and criminal victimization had generally found that women express greater levels of fear than men. Using survey data, this study contrasted perceptions of safety and the fear of personal and property victimization among male and female respondents. Specifically considered was the relationship between demographic characteristics, fear facilitators, fear inhibitors, neighborhood context, and crime-related fear. Results indicated some gender differences in the influence explanatory variables had on fear, although not all achieved statistical significance. For both gender groups, respondents' perceptions of their neighborhood as orderly and satisfactory had the largest effect on perceptions. Gender-based differences in the outcome of the analyses further supported that males and females experienced fear based upon different factors.     

The judicial response to crime and the criminal: A utilitarian perspective

This paper examines the hypothesis that the sentencing decision of the criminal court is consistent with utilitarian principles and that the judiciary uses the length of incarceration as an instrument for the maximization of societal well-being. A theoretical model is developed, whose principal arguments are offender and offense attributes, resource costs, the availability of alternative sanctions, and the general crime rate. Four questions are considered: (i) How does a utilitarian court respond to a general increase in crime? (ii) How does the availability of alternative sanctions affect the length of incarceration ? (iii) How does a utilitarian court respond to offenders who are more likely to recidivate? (iv) How does the court respond to offenders who commit more serious offenses? The model is empirically evaluated, using cross-sectional data for the state of Georgia for individuals sentenced to prison in 1978 for a UCR index offense. The theoretical model provides few specific behavioral rules for the court to follow. Answers to the foregoing four questions are shown to depend upon both the efficacy of sanctions and the cost of the administration of those sanctions. It is not possible to predict, for example, how a utilitarian court should respond to a rise in crime or how it should respond to offenders who are likely to commit more serious offenses. The empirical analysis shows that, in fact, the sentence length varied inversely with the general offense rate, with the likelihood of imprisonment, and with the length of postprison probation. The evidence also indicates that sentences vary with the individual's original record but not with the offender's age or race. With the exception of possible gender bias, the court's sentencing behavior was consistent with utilitarian principles.     

The criminal career: Estimates of the duration and frequency of crime commission

This paper deals with measuring two dimensions of the criminal career: residual duration and frequency. It reports results from estimating the parameters of a model in which offenders have a probability of desisting from further participation in crime following a conviction and, if they persist, a rate of crime commission. The probability of desisting and the rate of commission are seen as varying with offenders' personal characteristics and criminal records. Moreover, this paper discusses the difficulty of estimating models in which failure to commit a new crime might be attributable either to termination of the criminal career or to a censored follow-up period. The paper reports both successful and unsuccessful estimation attempts and discusses complications when distinguishing empirically between duration and frequency.     

Neuroscience and behavioral genetics in US criminal law: an empirical analysis

The goal of this study was to examine the growing use of neurological and behavioral genetic evidence by criminal defendants in US criminal law. Judicial opinions issued between 2005–12 that discussed the use of neuroscience or behavioral genetics by criminal defendants were identified, coded and analysed. Criminal defendants are increasingly introducing such evidence to challenge defendants’ competency, the effectiveness of defense counsel at trial, and to mitigate punishment.     

The quality of doctoral programs in deviance,criminology, and criminal justice: An empirical assessment

While information regarding the doctoral programs in any discipline is of obvious and considerable relevance both to those in the discipline and to those seeking access to the best possible sites for graduate training, our knowledge about the quality of doctoral programs continues to be based on little more than speculation and highly ambiguous measures of institutional or departmental prestige. This study attempts to fill this gap for those who have special interests in the related fields of deviance, criminology, and criminal justice by ranking the thirty-six most significant doctoral programs in the nation by means of data derived from the Social Science Citation Index. Perhaps the most striking of our findings—and certainly to us the most distressing finding—is that those departments ranked by our measures as being the highest quality are consistently those which exist within the broader structure of departments of sociology. Given our firm conviction that the discipline of criminology is far, far more than that aspect of it which is closely related to issues of substantive significance to the field of sociology, we can only speculate that those in leadership positions in the growing number of independent schools or departments of criminology or criminal justice are not meeting their obligations to the discipline whose vitality and prospects depend so heavily on the quality of their judgment.     

社会转型时期犯罪人的犯罪目的研究

犯罪目的是犯罪人实施犯罪行为的原动力,犯罪人主观上对犯罪结果的企盼促使犯罪人实施犯罪行为。由于犯罪人的犯罪目的不同,所表现出的犯罪行为和社会危害性亦有所不同。因此,研究犯罪人的犯罪目的对掌握犯罪人的犯罪目的与犯罪行为之间的规律,有效预防犯罪尤为重要。     

试论走私犯罪的犯罪心理结构、罪后心理及其团伙心理特征

有关经济犯罪的论述颇丰,而对经济犯罪人,即经济罪犯的犯罪心理结构和人格构成、罪后心理以及作为组织(团伙)的犯罪心理特征的研究剖析还相当欠缺。走私犯罪作为经济犯罪的一部分,具有与其共通的普遍特征,但也因其犯罪性质而呈现出它自身的特性。在目前经济犯罪侦查实践中,走私犯罪侦查是一个起步不久的领域,在侦查过程中也遇到了不少问题。而从侦查实践看,走私犯罪嫌疑人的个人人格特征和犯罪心理结构往往是侦破案件的某种契机或缺口,因此,对其进行研究分析,将对走私犯罪侦破策略、侦破手段的提高与充实产生重要的执法价值和现实意义,同时对完善犯罪学和犯罪心理学产生积极作用。 一、深层次分析走私罪犯的犯罪心理结构和个体人格,破解其犯罪行为形成的主要原因。     

中澳刑事被害人诉讼地位及权利比较

在现代刑事诉讼制度中,对被害人合法权益的保障日渐突出。本文结合我国立法和司法实践的现状,通过比较中国与澳大利亚在被害人诉讼地位和权利保护方面的异同,对如何完善我国的被害人权利保障机制提出了相应的建议。     

Race, conventional crime, and criminal justice: The declining importance of skin color

Blacks in the United States are arrested, prosecuted, convicted, and incarcerated in numbers disproportionate to their percentage of the population. One explanation is that racial discrimination against Blacks pervades the American system of criminal justice. This study examined the nature and extent of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system by evaluating five propositions using data from extant literature. Little evidence was found to support the allegation that the criminal justice system systematically discriminates against Blacks.     

Relationship between reported crime rates and victimization survey results: An empirical and analytical study

Changes over time in crime as measured by reported crime counts and victimization survey counts are compared. A simple analysis is done using data from the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration's (LEAA) National Crime Survey for the years 1973, 1974, and 1975. These data are used to provide some understanding of why Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) results for these years show a much greater increase in crime than the LEAA/Census Bureau National Crime Surveys. A mathematical model is constructed to determine whether changes in the proportion of victimization reported to the authorities produces systematic bias in reported crime estimates of changes in actual victimizations. It is found that reported crime counts: (1) either exaggerate the amount of changes in victimizations or, (2) tend to misrepresent the direction of change in victimizations. It is highly likely that the amount of measurement error in changes in reported crime is significantly large in comparison with, if not larger than, the normal amounts of change in reported crime.